In Today’s Deep Space Extra… New astronaut recruits introduced. Vice President Pence plans to reestablish the National Space Council.


Human Space Exploration

NASA introduces 12 new astronauts

CBS News (6/7): Vice President Mike Pence joined Robert Lightfoot, NASA’s acting administrator, in Houston on Wednesday to introduce a new class of U.S. astronaut recruits. “I can’t tell you how privileged and honored I feel today to be able to congratulate the newest class of American heroes, the 2017 class of America’s astronauts,” said Pence, while visiting the Johnson Space Center and Mission Control.

Pence reiterates plans to reestablish the National Space Council

Space News (6/7): Vice President Mike Pence says the Trump Administration intends to reinstate the National Space Council, the cabinet-level space policy making body. Pence would chair the council that was first initiated in 1958 but dissolved in 1993. Pence offered the pledge while at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Wednesday to present a new class of U.S. astronauts.

Opinion: A refueling station orbiting the moon could slash the cost of a trip to Mars

Market Watch (6/7): Propellants mined from the moon’s surface, with its much-reduced gravity, and delivered to a lunar orbiting service station could help reduce the cost of launching Mars bound rockets with explorers, according to an op-ed that cites studies by United Launch Alliance.

 

Space Science

Einstein’s light-bending by single far-off star detected

Science News (6/7): Research presented before the American Astronomical Society affirms Einstein’s theories of gravitational influence. A star sufficiently massive can bend the light from stars more distant.

Earth faces an increased risk of being hit by an asteroid, astronomers warn

Space.com (6/7): The Earth may face an increased risk of impact from meteoroids, even asteroids, according to findings from the Czech Academy of Sciences. The conclusions are based on studies of the Taurid meteor stream.

Mars had way more water on its surface than we thought

Universe Today (6/7): Martian valley ways, evident in ongoing imagery of the red planet, suggest that Mars had more surface water than previously thought, according to a new assessment of the geology.

 

Low Earth Orbit

Proton-M launch vehicle puts U.S. satellite into orbit

TASS of Russia (6/8): A Russian Proton rocket launched an Echostar telecommunications satellite into orbit on Thursday. It was the first launch of a Proton in a year, a setback required to overcome manufacturing flaws in upper stage engines.

 

International Developments

China to provide more opportunities to private companies for space exploration

Xinhuanet of China (6/8): Though it will be a challenge, China intends to provide opportunities for its private companies to participate in future deep space exploration, according to Tian Yulong, secretary general of the China National Space Administration. Tian spoke at the Global Space Exploration Conference in Beijing. “The CNSA is working on enabling enterprises to become the main force of technical innovation by creating favorable laws and policies,” he said.

New law and space agency to support Luxembourg’s space resources ambitions

Space News (6/7): Luxembourg anticipates new legislation as well as a national space agency to support the European nation’s ambitions of taking the lead in the mining of asteroids for valuable resources, according to Etienne Schneider, deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and minister of finance.

 

Other News

Apollo astronaut shares recollections 45 years after moon landing (exclusive interview)

Space.com (6/7): It’s been almost a half century since it happened, but Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke vividly remembers the landing of Apollo 16 on the lunar surface. Duke and others involved in NASA’s historic Apollo initiative participated in public events at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Wednesday.